I worked in the Egyptian desert, it's western desert, as an inspector of civil works. The whole trip was an experience particularly Cairo. I know cities can sprawl, but Cairo when flying over it in a small plane is huge!! Anyway to the desert, the company I worked for, was, from memory Solus engineering and the guys i worked with were all brits, so we stuck together. Americans were there of course and that multi-national company Schlumberger. Anyway to the point of the blog, El Alamein, amongst our group were two pot smokers,Â plus me and a scouscer boiler maker who was employed as a welding inspector. Anyway we had long drunk our duty free and somehow the longest served guy there a cockney welding inspector acquired a 4 x 4 vehicle, a Lada Niva, and suggested we go to El Alamein for a few beers and a meal on our day off. Camp life is boring so this seemed unmissable.
We reached El Alamein without event, as I recall, and as you near the place, I was going to type town there but it is not that, there is evidence of battle, with tanks and other combative vehicles lying around half buried in the sand.
There was as I recall three mausoleums, a German one, a British one and one I can't remember. I do remember walking through the British graveyard all with the same head stones, but it was the ages of the dead that got to me, 19 to 21 predominated.
We found the hotel had plenty of beer and a meal, the scoucser spewed into the bottom of a palm tree outside the hotel and we went back to camp. I was very interested in my safety on the way back as the driver not only had loads of beer but he and the other smoker smoked spliffs all the way back. I have to admit he was very alert and aware, and trust me I wasn't half asleep pissed, if he showed the slightest unsafe manoeuvre, I was going to demand to drive. As I recall getting back to camp the gate security person was informed we were mickey mouse and Donald duck and friends. Could not help going to bed chuckling !!